February 24 in Cardinals History

1943– Due to the war, the Cardinals reduce their farm system from 21 teams to seven. The next day they place an ad in the Sporting News looking for players.

2003– The St. Louis Cardinals signed Jose Nieves as a free agent.

2006- The St. Louis Cardinals released Ramon Nivar

Birthdays

Champ Osteen (February 24, 1877 – December 14, 1962) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, New York Highlanders and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1903, 1904, 1908 and 1909, primarily as a shortstop. He batted left and threw right-handed. In 83 career games, he had 60 hits in 304 at bats.

Bugs Raymond (February 24, 1882 – September 7, 1912) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1904 to 1911. He played for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Giants. Raymond was born in Chicago. He started his professional baseball career with the Waterloo Microbes in 1904. After a short stint with the Tigers, Raymond returned to the minors. He developed his spitball sometime in 1906. With the new pitch, he had a big season in 1907, going 35-11 for the South Atlantic League’s Charleston Sea Gulls. Raymond pitched a no-hitter that year, as well, and led Charleston to the pennant. The Cardinals purchased him in September, and in 1908, he was the best pitcher on the team. His 2.03 earned run average ranked tenth in the National League, and his 145 strikeouts were fourth-best. During the 1908 season, he gave up fewer hits per game than Christy Mathewson and threw five shutouts, but he was also on the mound eleven times when the Cardinals failed to score.
Raymond was known for his spitball and got his nickname because of his zany antics on the mound. What might have been a promising career was short-circuited by a perpetual addiction to alcohol. The only manager who could keep Raymond in line for any length of time was hard-nosed Giants manager John McGraw. McGraw picked him up in the Roger Bresnahan trade before the 1909 season, and Bugs won 18 games for him that year.
However, Raymond could never stay sober for long. McGraw tried everything – including fining him so there wouldn’t be any money left for drinks and hiring a detective to trail Bugs – but nothing worked. In addition, Raymond had a subpar performance on the mound in 1910, going 4-11. He was released midway through the Giants’ 1911 pennant-winning season. He led the league with 25 losses in 1908.

Del Wilber (February 24, 1919 – July 18, 2002), was an American professional baseball player, manager, coach and scout. A catcher, he appeared in 299 Major League games for the St. Louis Cardinals (1946–49), Philadelphia Phillies (1951–52) and Boston Red Sox (1952–54). Wilber signed with the American League St. Louis Browns in 1938, but was acquired by the Cardinals in 1940 and played in their extensive farm system until the outbreak of World War II; he missed the 1942–45 seasons while serving in the United States Army Air Force, where he attained the rank of captain. In 1946, he resumed his baseball career and made his Major League debut, appearing in four games before being sent to the Triple-A Columbus Red Birds. He did not appear in the 1946 World Series. Wilber played in 51 games for the 1947 Cardinals and 27 more in 1948,

Rod Brewer (born February 24, 1966) is a former American college and professional baseball player who was a first baseman and outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 1993. He hit .278 with 2 career home runs.

Rene Arocha In 1991, during an international competition, Arocha defected, opting for a life in the United States and the chance at playing in the Major Leagues. His story became known across the States when Hispanic media began talking about him, and Arocha was the subject of many television reports on Telemundo and Univision.
In 1991, Arocha was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, and assigned to the Cardinals’ farm team in Louisville, Kentucky. As a pitcher in Louisville in 1992, Arocha posted 12 wins and 7 losses with an earned run average of 2.70. These numbers prompted the Cardinals to bring Arocha to the Major Leagues, and he debuted with the Cardinals in 1993, winning 11 games and losing 8, while striking out 96 opponents and accumulating an ERA of 3.78.The 1994 and 1995 seasons were marred for Arocha by injuries, and he only won 7 games in those two years combined, while also losing 7. After missing the entire 1996 season with injuries, he was dealt as a player to be named later to the San Francisco Giants in a deal to acquire catcher Tom Lampkin

Stubby Clapp He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 36th round (1,058th overall) of 1996 amateur entry draft. In 1998, when playing for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers he led the league with 86 walks and 139 games played. He remains popular among Travelers fans to this day.
In 1999, Clapp was part of the Canadian team at the Pan Pan American Games in Winnipeg. A popular player with his teammates, He became a minor media celebrity within Canada after his game-winning, bases-loaded single against the U.S. team. In 2000, he led the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds with 138 hits, 89 runs, 80 walks, 8 triples, and 6 sacrifice hits.Clapp played 23 games in 2001 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Clapp had 5 hits in 25 at bats, including 2 doubles and 1 RBI.

Randy Keisler He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on November 16, 2006 but only made 4 appearances with the Cardinals, 3 of which were starts he finished 0-0 with a 5.19 ERA. He also made 24 starts for the AAA Memphis Redbirds and was 8-11 with a 4.79 ERA for the Redbirds.

Brian Esposito He was recalled from the Memphis Redbirds on May 30, 2007, when the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting catcher, Yadier Molina was placed on the disabled list with a fractured wrist. Esposito made his major league debut June 2 against the Houston Astros as a late-inning defensive replacement for Gary Bennett. He did not have a plate appearance. He returned to Memphis on June 5 after the Cardinals acquired veteran catcher Kelly Stinnett from the Los Angeles Dodgers.